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At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. Teemu Hartikainen is exactly what the Edmonton Oilers want.

Question is, does he want the Edmonton Oilers?

At least badly enough to finally reach out and put a job they’ve been holding for him for two years in a choke hold?

A big, strong winger who can play is at the very top of the Oilers wish list and they’ve been giving the 22-year-old Finn several chances to be that guy for them. He’s yet to take it.

“With Teemu it’s very clear what our needs are, to increase our physicality down low, to sustain our cycles, also increase the net pressure,” said head coach Ralph Krueger. “He has that physical side to him that we like. It’s his consistency that’s hurt him the last two years.”

It’s much too early to compare him to former Oilers JF Jacques, a power forward in the minors and a minor league forward in the NHL, but the big Finn struggles in trying to be the same player in both leagues — scoring 45 goals in 164 career AHL games and just six in 48 in the NHL.

He knows he has to step his game up if he wants to be here for the long haul.

“I just need to be consistent every night,” said Hartikainen, who has 37 points in 47 games with Oklahoma City, but just three points in 19 games with the Oilers.

“It would help me if I could score some goals, create more offence when I’m cycling the puck down low and in the corners — take it to the net and try to bang some rebounds from there.

“Just play hard and play physical and bring the same elements I did in OKC. I played pretty well, got good ice time down there and scored some goals. It was good confidence building for me when I went down and played 20 minutes a night.”

With just six games left in the season after Tuesday night’s tilt with Minnesota, he knows he has to show something now.

“I want to show all that I have in my tool box for the new GM and the coaches. It’s an opportunity for me for sure.”

He’ll get the opportunity. With Edmonton out of the playoffs, they want to take a good look at everything before GM Craig MacTavish starts disassembling in the summer.

“We’re expecting (Hartikainen) raises that bar,” said Krueger. “We had some good conversations when he was sent down. We asked him to do certain things in Oklahoma City and he did them religiously.

“We’re hoping he can bring that into the NHL. He knows that size and grit and intensity in the lines backing up our skill lines is definitely a necessity. There’s a lot of opportunity for him now to show that.”

Same for Anton Lander, on the comeback trail after breaking his foot in early February.

“His broken foot kind of threw his season out of whack,” said Krueger. “He has come on strong in Oklahoma City, but that’s the American League. We’ll have to see how that will transpire over here.”

Big forward Teemu Hartikainen getting another chance to translate his AHL success to a spot in the Edmonton Oilers lineup

At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. Teemu Hartikainen is exactly what the Edmonton Oilers want.

Question is, does he want the Edmonton Oilers?

At least badly enough to finally reach out and put a job they’ve been holding for him for two years in a choke hold?

A big, strong winger who can play is at the very top of the Oilers wish list and they’ve been giving the 22-year-old Finn several chances to be that guy for them. He’s yet to take it.

“With Teemu it’s very clear what our needs are, to increase our physicality down low, to sustain our cycles, also increase the net pressure,” said head coach Ralph Krueger. “He has that physical side to him that we like. It’s his consistency that’s hurt him the last two years.”

It’s much too early to compare him to former Oilers JF Jacques, a power forward in the minors and a minor league forward in the NHL, but the big Finn struggles in trying to be the same player in both leagues — scoring 45 goals in 164 career AHL games a